First fish in a while

Well, I am a college graduate, or will be soon. This Saturday I will be getting my diploma and license.

But back to the fish. A few days ago I decided instead of doing nothing I'd go fishing at a local tick-infested lake. I only grabbed my UL swimbait rod: a Rainshadow HS 962 wrapped by Adam Cargill that had been cut down a couple inches with a Curado 200E7 with 50# braid. My bait of choice was a weedless Hudd shad. I came up on a small patch of tulles and flipped the bait into a pocket. I spaced out for a second and then noticed my line had come tight. I swung hard to get a good positive hookup, and was rewarded by a fish rolling around in some submerged brush. At first I thought it was a rat, then I thought I hooked a monster, then realized it was nice, but not huge. Either way, I was really happy with it. The fish probably went about 5lbs.

Look for more posts soon, I have about 2 weeks before I join the working force, during which time I plan to fish as much as possible.

A little knowledge...

I'm still trying to keep this blog going, but it's kinda tough when you strike out every time you fish. I'm in over 100 hours without a bite on the swimbait. A buddy and I were talking about leaders, line, and connections and I offered to make a video showing how to tie the Albright knot. It's traditionally used in combination with an Bimini Twist, however it will work fine just used by itself. I have been using it with heavier stuff, particularly with about 1' of 30# mono to 80# Power Pro for working big walk the dog baits. I apologize for the quality, I shot the video using my old digital camera.

First bass of 2012

I know it's a little late but I finally caught my first bass of 2012. A couple weeks ago my buddy Adam and I scoped out Lake Collins by Marysville, where we blanked on the big baits. We were about to leave when we saw the stocker truck drive by, so we followed it to the launch ramp hoping to see some of the 8-12"protein bars get crushed by some of the lake's giant spotties. That didn't happen either so we broke in Adam's new spinning rod on a few trout with a ghetto rig consisting of a treble hook and Roboworm tail off a rat. Fast forward to Friday February 3rd, I needed to clear my head so I decided to go hit a lake that hasn't let me down. I was punching with a 5.20 Sweat Beaver in sprayed grass, a money maker colored Paycheck punch skirt, 1oz tungsten weight and 65# braid. Fish ate it deep in the tulles. No monster, but definitely a good fish.

Personal best frog fish!

Had this guy crush a Snagproof frog a few feet off the bank and rip a little bit of drag. This is by far the biggest fish I've caught on a frog so far.



Bummed I didn't have a scale, or at least a measuring tape but oh well, that's fishing.

A few more for kermit

Recently had another fun trip with Erik to a local lake up here near where we live. First cast had a good size fish absolutely blast my frog, only to have the fish "kelp trick" me (named from when a calico bass wraps a bait around a kelp stalk and basically pry bars the bait out of its mouth, this actually happens quite frequently). A few casts later it happened again, so I switched to another frog and salvaged the day, only missing one more fish.

Berry 9/10

Heres a few pictures from a fun (but insanely hot) trip to Berryessa that Erik and I did yesterday.

Its been a while

My lack of blogs is due to the fact that I was in the South Pacific for school for two months. I am working at Angler's Center again, and fishing as much as possible since I've been back. 

I wanted to do a short write up on fishing the frog. I have been on two good frog bites since I've been home; one on San Diego's Lake Barrett and the other...on an undisclosed location. The bite on Barrett was the best I have been on: a small storm rolled through and it was sprinkling, lowering the barometric pressure enough to trigger a bite. We were pitching frogs under trees for the most part, during the bite my close bud Jeff (whenever we fish the frog, he ALWAYS outfishes me) stuck this fish:

The three of us each stuck around 15 fish during the small flurry, and we each picked off a few more after the bite slowed down. A few nights later I went out by myself and got into a bite and stuck four fish, but lost a donkey. 

I don't have a ton of experience froggin' but here's what I have to offer up:

Line: I prefer 65# Power Pro, it cuts through slop, tulies, and whatever other junk you may be fishing. The lack of stretch also allows for better hooksets when fishing in slop. 

Reel: Anything with a faster gear ratio will work, a Curado 200E7 works great. Lately I have been using a 300E, which may be a little big but it winches fish in quickly. 

Rod: A heavy, fast action rod will do the trick. I fish a Crucial 72H, it's a pure meat stick and gets fish out of the slop fast; however it lacks the soft tip that many anglers prefer. 

Frog: Whatever frog you have confidence in. I personally like the Reaction Innovation's Swamp Donkey, sadly like the Vixen, it is also no longer made. It has a great hookup ratio because the hooks are positioned with the points up. Paycheck Baits acquired the mold and added a popper mouth, I haven't fished it yet, but I have heard good things.